F-4E Phantom II

2020-05-19T10:27:59Z

U38375129: /* Flight performance */

{{Specs-Card|code=f-4e}}
{{About
| about = jet fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = F-4 Phantom II (Family)
}}
== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]]. This twin-engine aircraft is powered by two General Electric J79-GE-17 jets, each producing an incredible 8,010 kgf on maximum afterburner. This multi-role vehicle is among the top fighter jets in the game and also a supremely capable ground attacker.

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 12,192 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 2,097 || 2,074 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 26.5 || 27.5 || 160.8 || 151.2 || rowspan="2" | 850
|-
! Upgraded
|2,202||2,140||25.5||26.0|| 221.6 || 190.0
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| X || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || N/A || ___ || 463 || ~11 || ~4
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 810 || < 750 || < 700 || N/A
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===
''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.''

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===

{{main|M61 (20 mm)}}

The '''''F-4E Phantom II''''' is armed with the following offensive weapons:

* 1 x 20 mm M61 cannon, chin-mounted (640 RPG)

Due to this cannon's high rate of fire, trigger discipline is a must.

=== Suspended armament ===
''Describe the aircraft's suspended armament: additional cannons under the wings, bombs, rockets and torpedoes. This section is especially important for bombers and attackers. If there is no suspended weaponry remove this subsection.''
{{main|M61 (20 mm)|LDGP Mk 82 (500 lb)|M117 cone 45 (750 lb)|LDGP Mk 83 (1,000 lb)|LDGP Mk 84 (2,000 lb)}}
{{main|AGM-12C Bullpup|FFAR Mighty Mouse|Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP|AIM-9E|AIM-9J}}

== Usage in battles ==


The F-4E Phantom II is well-suited for any in-game situation. For attacking ground targets, the plane is armed with an assortment of bombs and rockets, and against air targets, players may employ the vehicle's deadly air-to-air missiles and frontal cannon. If desired, three externally-mounted gunpods may be equipped, but note that these may not be useful in certain situations. Although they will undoubtedly increase the vehicle's destructive capabilities, they also appreciably hinder flight performance through induced drag. In many situations, one front-facing cannon is all that is required to dispatch an opponent aircraft. As for the missiles, the ones used by this plane are among the best in the game, comparable to the [[R-60]] missiles equipped by the [[MiG-21MF (Germany)]] and the [[MiG-21SMT]]. The AIM-9J missiles are most effective when fired from between 1 to 2 km away from the target. Any closer and they will struggle to track and likely veer off target for a miss.

The F-4E has one of the highest rates of climb out of any vehicle in the game, and is also one of the fastest, especially below 5,000 m altitude. It also has good to excellent acceleration at all speeds, unlike the MiG-21SMT, which only has above-average acceleration at speeds above 700 kph. This means that the Phantom is much more forgiving in dogfights since any lost speed can be regained fairly quickly.

Unlike the [[F-4C]], this vehicle is equipped with leading-edge slats, which increase the aircraft's manoeuvrability. The plane has the best turning ability between 700 and 900 kph, although it has competitive turn rates at all speeds. However, as with all top-tier fighter jets, extended turn-fights should be avoided, since they bleed much speed out of this heavy aircraft and leave the pilot defenceless against nearby vultures. Specifically, watch out for the [[J35D]] ''Draken'', which will beat any of its contemporaries in an extended turn, and also keep an eye on nearby [[Mitsubishi T-2]] and MiG-21 pilots: although these aircraft don't do as well in extended turns, they can pull a significant angle of attack in the first few moments of a turn-fight.

In air realistic battles, it is recommended to take a maximum fuel load (26 min), given the high fuel-usage of the aircraft's afterburner. It is also recommended to take armoured-target belts for the internal 20 mm cannon, as well as 4 AIM-9J air-to-air missiles. This setup will maximize the vehicle's anti-air capabilities.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Leading-edge slats allow for an above-average turn rate
* AIM-9J air-to-air missiles are among the best in the game
* Equipped with flares for evading enemy missiles
* A wide range of suspended armaments, suitable for any play-style
* Deadly frontal armament with high burst mass
* Makes use of a ballistic computer for assisting in the aim of cannons, rockets, and bombs
* Hard to rip the wings through G-overload

'''Cons:'''

* Limited ammunition in the frontally-mounted cannon
* Quite large and heavy compared to other fighters at its tier
* Rate of climb suffers immensely when carrying large amounts of ordinance.

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==

{{Youtube-gallery|TWT-ETcU_No|'''The Shooting Range #198''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:33 discusses the F-4E Phantom II.}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the aircraft;''
* ''other literature.''

{{AirManufacturer McDonnell}}
{{USA jet aircraft}}

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F-4E Phantom II